Brazil could face attack like U.S. Capitol assault, top election official says

FILE PHOTO: Judge Edson Fachin looks on during a session of the Supreme Court to discuss a ruling restricting immunity that federal lawmakers and ministers have from prosecution in lower courts for crimes committed before their current mandates, in Brasilia, Brazil May 2, 2018. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's elections chief on Tuesday warned that the South American country could face a similar assault as the 2021 U.S. Capitol riot amid growing attacks on its democratic institutions ahead of October's presidential election.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is behind in the polls to his leftist rival Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has repeatedly cast doubt on the country's electronic voting system, saying it is vulnerable to fraud, without providing evidence.